


The Runningback

by Purgeloined



Category: DCU, DCU (Animated), Glee, Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Death, Mild Crossover, Multi, Unrequited Love, you don't have to watch glee to understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-24
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2018-01-02 12:27:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purgeloined/pseuds/Purgeloined
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by Glee's tribute episode to Cory Monteith "The Quarterback", this is how Dick, Artemis, Barry and Wally's parents deal with the death of the young speedster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Runningback

“You don’t have to do this now.”

Mary West’s moist green orbs met her husband’s bluish mauve eyes, staring blankly at each other with no emotion. No words escaped their bitten, pursed lips. Rudolph silently linked his arms with his wife’s wrinkled fingers and whispered soft undertones, but to Mary they were just inaudible noises she could not make.

It had been three weeks since their son Wallace Rudolph West, better known as Kid Flash, was unwillingly taken from the lives of the ones he cared. They had been planning to pack the young speedster’s belongings—memories—weeks ago but the grieving mother could not bring herself to do it; she still can’t. Wally was a glowing candle in the darkness of their hearts. Now they have to clean up the meltings.

“You don’t have to do this now, Mary,” Rudolph repeated, his voice reassuring and still.

“I have to,” she replied. “Or I’m afraid I’ll never do it.”

She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears using the back of her hand. She stood up, looking around the room to find anything she has yet to unpack.

She scanned the room and her eyes stopped at Wally’s Kid Flash costume. “Every day, Rudolph,” she said, snapping her husband out of his thoughts. “Every day, Rudolph. He saved thousands of people; men, women, children. I watch the news, Rudolph, I know how many women lose their children every day. But how…” she paused. “How do they wake up everyday?”

Rudolph didn’t answer.

“How do they wake up everyday… With the feeling of not wanting to wake up?”

Silence.

“How do they breathe? How do they wake up everyday—feeling like they don’t want to wake up—knowing they can’t stop waking up? How do they wake up everyday, knowing they have to move on as a parent… Even though you don’t get to have a child anymore?”

This time Mary’s sobs replaced the quietness.

* * *

Barry Allen was there when his nephew was taken away from him. He was the one who called Mary & Rudolph, he was the one who arranged the memorial, he was the one who witnessed Wally’s death. He kept his eyes closed whenever Wally came into his mind.

He felt pathetic.

He knew he should’ve slowed down to attract the energy that attacked Wally. But a part of him stopped him; Lex Luthor’s words echoed in his mind, _do not slow down_. He wished he had thrown Wally away from the crystallized tornado thing, but for some bloody reason he couldn’t. Quoting Kaldur’ahm, they succeeded; but at a terrible cost.

When he arrived at home after a tiring day at work, he sat on the couch and buried his face in his hands. Iris popped out from the kitchen shortly after he heard a ‘ping’ from the microwave. “Welcome home,” she said, smiling. Her smile faded when Barry didn’t return the smile and instead, gave her a sigh. She took a seat next to her husband and squeezed the Flash’s hand.

“I think I know what this is about.” she said.

“I’m fine.” he retorted.

Iris closed her eyes. 

“Barry,” she said. “I was there… when you called Mary. I stood next to you at the memorial. I was there, with you, when Bart tried on the Kid Flash suit. And I couldn’t help but notice something.”

Barry looked at her, mildly curious.

“You haven’t cried.”

The Flash pursed his lips.

“I know how much you loved him as an uncle,” Iris continued—with a whimper Barry could barely hear—“I know how much you cared for him. I know you still do.”When Barry noticed how Iris started to sniffle every now and then, he opened his mouth to say something, only to be stopped by Iris. She shook her head. “I may not be a certified grief counselor, but I’m here for you.”

And then she heard a small sob coming from Barry’s lips. “I just—I—“ he tried to speak, but tears were streaming down his face and his lungs begged for air. He hadn’t cried like that in ten years. “I could have—I should have—“ His sobs roared through the room, while Iris tightened her embrace but his sobs kept getting louder every second—as if he was stacking up the grief he had endured all this time. “I-I should’ve hugged him more,” he said between his weepings. “Last time I-I saw him… Before it happened—I—I was… He was so bummed out about some test and I said ‘I know you can do it’… A-And for some reason I just… I… I pat him on the back a-and—“

He couldn’t continue.

Iris bit her lip as tears of her own started coming down her face as well. “It’s gonna be okay.”

That night, Barry Allen fell asleep on his couch, cheeks stained with tears.

* * *

 

When Kaldur asked why he was going to quit the team, Dick Grayson told the truth.

But he didn’t tell him all of it.

He quit because he needed a break. He quit because it didn’t feel right anymore; without Wally, nothing felt right.

He quit because he couldn’t bear the pain.

Dick was—is—in love with him.

Ever since Wally’s departure, whenever Dick entered the Watchtower he felt a rush of nostalgia running through his blood, passing through every blood vessel, making its way toward his brain. He remembered his first heartbreak clearly; January 1st, as Robin, Watchtower. No one knew, but when Wally and Artemis kissed, he was looking right at them. He knew they had chemistry. He knew Wally would never return his feelings, that he would just see him as his best bro. He always knew.

When Wally told Dick about how lucky Conner is, to have M’gann, he listened. Wally could not stop talking about them, but he eventually moved on. “After all,” said the speedster, “You don’t have to own someone to love them!”

When Wally told Dick about how he started to feel something between him and Artemis, he listened. He gave him advice. He supported him. Heck, he even offered a wingman service. He wanted Wally to get the girl he deserved; he didn’t want Wally to suffer from another heartbreak; he wanted Wally to be happy.

Dick could only smile from afar when Wally and Artemis moved in together to a new apartment downtown.

After all,

You don’t have to own someone to love them.

* * *

 

 

_When the evening shadows_

_And the stars appear_

_And there is no one there_

_To dry your tears_

_I could hold you_

_For a million years_

_To make you feel my love_

Artemis sung silently as the flames in the fireplace shone bright, making a ‘cack’ sound every now and then. She wasn’t a good singer, she recalled Wally telling her when she sung the same song to her lover. A few days later, she found out that Wally had recorded her singing and named it ‘Our Anthem’. A bit cheesy, but Artemis knew it wasn’t sarcasm.

She remembered the day when they first met. How he didn’t like her at first, and she returned the feeling. How they always fought during missions. How she told him to 'stop touching yourself' without anyone understanding the hidden sexual innuendo. How Wally made her feel special.

When no one believed in her, Wally was there. He knew she wasn't the mole. He pretended not to trust her, but he always knew.

Wally saw the side of her she never showed anyone. Behind that mask was a wall of insecurity Artemis couldn't break down. Wally didn't break down the wall; he adorned it.

She missed the way he said her name; it's as if her name was safe in his lips, locked up in a chest only both of them can access; how she felt secure in his arms, even though she, perhaps, could protect herself better than him. With Wally, she received the sense of security and love she never received when she was young; not even with her mother.

Only once in one's life, Artemis believed, you find someone who can completely turn your life around. You can tell them things that you would never tell to another soul, and they would still be there for you no matter how dark your dark side is; you wouldn't worry about what they'll think because they love you for who you are. She felt that way with Wally, and while she felth the same way with her mother, Wally was different. Sharing childhood memories with him make the memories seem bright and vivid as if they were young again. They would laugh together, they would link their hands together; they would dance like nobody's watching and they would cry over a movie together; and the fact that you can only find someone like this once in a lifetime...

Artemis closed her eyes and went to bed. Darkness. She lost her light. 

 

_"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings." —Anaïs Nin_

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know Wally's not dead; he's a regular on JLU after all. In this fanfic he's dead though. Some of the dialogues are from Glee.


End file.
